Sanitary belt



July 15, 1958 1. R. SCHMIDT 2,843,126

SANITARY BELT Filed Sept. 24, 1956 IN VEN TOR. lRE/VE R. SCHM/DT ATTORNEY United States Patent SANITARY BELT Irene R. Schmidt, Ponca City, Okla.

Application September 24, 1956, Serial No. 611,576

3 Claims. (Cl. 128-291) This invention relates to improvements in sanitary belts for feminine wear during menstrual periods.

An important object of this invention is to provide a comfortable sanitary belt for feminine wear.

Another object of this invention is to provide a sanitary belt which requires no pins for attaching a sanitary napkin thereto and which provides a minimum of undesirable projections or lumps visible through the outer clothing of the wearer..

Another object of this invention is to provide a sanitary belt having an elastic waist portion by which the belt may be repeatedly put on and taken off without undue stretching of the elastic, and wherein the elastic will not roll during use.

A further object of this invention is to provide a sanitary belt which may be easily put on.

Another object of this invention is to provide a sanitary belt which gives the maximum freedom of movement to the wearer.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a sanitary belt which may be economically manufactured.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be evident from the following detailed description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate my invention.

I11 the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my novel sanitary belt, with the belt being substantially in the form it would assume when in operating position.

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the belt, with the belt lying flat on a table or the like.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along lines 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Broadly stated, the present invention may be defined as a sanitary belt for feminine wear comprising an elongated body normally supported at its opposite ends to depend in the form of a U and providing a front panel, a rear panel and an intermediate crotch portion, said rear panel being wider than said front panel, with each of said panels being increased in width toward the opposite ends of the body, each end of the body being curved in a concave direction, a wide width elastic strip secured to each rear corner of the body and its mating forward corner to extend around the opposite sides of the waist of the wearer tangentially from the ends of said body to support said body.

Referring to the drawings in detail, and particularly Fig. 1, reference character 4 generally designates the body portion of my sanitary belt, which body portion is supported substantially in the form of a U from a pair of elastic strips or straps 6 and 7. The depending body portion 4 forms a front panel 8, a rear panel 9 and an intermediate crotch portion 10. For convenience in illustrating the belt, I have designated the crotch portion as that portion of the belt exending between points A and B, it being understood that the length of this portion of the belt is not precisely defined and will vary depending upon the size of belt desired. The body portion 4 is pref- 2 erably formed out of a double layer of soft fabric and may be suitably lined with a rubberized material (not shown) if desired. Also, the body portion 4 may be formed as a single piece of material along its length, or formed in two parts with the parts sewed together in the manner illustrated in the drawing. However, the body 4 is a unitary structure and the specific type of fabric used is immaterial as far as the present invention is concerned.

As most clearly shown in Fig. 2, the back panel 9 is wider than the front panel 8 and is of a width to fit comfortably over the buttocks of the wearer and have a minimum tendency to crawl during use. It will also be observed that each of the panels 8 and 9 is progressively increased in width toward its outer or upper end. The upper end 12 of the front panel 8 and the upper end 14 of the back panel 9 are each cut or formed on the arc of a circle of substantially the same size to shape these ends in a concave direction with respect to the body portion 4. The opposite corners or edges 16 of the front panel 8 and the opposite edges 18 of the rear panel 9 are each cut or shaped to extend substantially along a radius of the circle on which the ends 12 and 14 are formed.

The elastic strap 6 is sewed or otherwise rigidly secured to one corner 18 of the back panel 9 and the mating corner 16 of the front panel 8, such that the strap 6 extends at right angles to the corners 16 and 18. Therefore, the strap 6 extends upwardly substantially along a tangent of the contour of each of the ends 12 and 14. The other strap 7 is sewed to the remaining corner 18 of the back panel 9 in a direction normal to the respective corner.

As shown in Fig. 3, the forward end 20 of the strap 7 is turned under and has a strip of reinforcing material 22 suitably secured thereto. The eye portion 24 of a suitable hook-andeye connector (generally designated at 26) is sewed to the end 20 and the material 22. The mating corner 16 of the front panel 8 has a reinforcing material 28 secured thereto to facilitate the support of the hook 30 of the fastener 26. The hook 30 engages the eye 24 in the usual manner to secure the end portion 20 of the strap 7 to the front panel 8. I preferably provide two of the hook-and-eye connectors 26 on the corner 16 and the strap 7 to assuredly secure the strap 7 and minimize the possibility of accidental disconnection of the strap during use of the sanitary belt. The use of at least two of the hook-and-eye connectors 26 also facilitates the retention of the strap 7 in a direction normal to the corner 16.

The concave contour of the upper ends 12 and 14 of the panels 8 and 9, along with the upwardly extending direction of the straps 6 and 7, provides a comfortable fit of the belt around the waist of the wearer. In other words, the waist encircling portion of the belt substantially conforms to the normal contour of the waist portion of the wearer. Another noteworthy feature of this invention is the width of the elastic straps 6 and 7. I have found that when the straps 6 and 7 are formed out of two inch wide elastic, the straps have an unusual resistance to rolling during use of the belt as compared to other sizes of straps, and particularly the narrow straps commonly used on sanitary belts.

I also provide a sanitary napkin retaining strap 34 on the front panel 8 and a similar strap 36 on the rear panel 9. The retaining straps 34 and 36 are suitably sewed to the inside surface of the panels 8 and 9, respectfully, with the central portions of the straps 34 and 36 being free for passage of a napkin between the respective strap and the inside surface of the respective panel. A sanitary napkin (not shown) having its opposite ends extending through the straps 34 and 36 will be effectively held in position when the belt is in use, thereby eliminating pinning or using some other stiff connector for securing the napkin to the belt.

It will be apparent that the hooks 30 may be'disconnected from the eyes 24 to free the strap 7 and permit the user to step freely into the sanitary belt. When the strap 7 is again connected to the front panel 8, the belt will fit snugly on the wearer. By:disconnecting the strap 7 from the front panel 8, the belt may-be easily and conveniently put on and taken 011?, and the elastic straps 6 and 7 will notbeunduly stretched by the operation.

' The contour of the panels-8 and 9, and their relation to the positions of the straps 6 and 7 provide large leg openings with the maximum freedom for the thighs of the wearer to prevent a binding of the belt and to minimize crawling of the belt,- even during periods of relatively extensive activity of the wearer.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the present invention provides a comfortable sanitary belt which requires no pins for attaching a napkin thereto and which provides a minimum of undesirable projections or lumps visiblethrough the outer clothing of the wearer. The belt may be easily put on and taken off without undue stretching of the elastic waist portion and the belt will give the maximum of freedom to the wearer. It will further be apparent that the belt may be economically manufactured.

Changes may be made in the precise embodiment shown without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A sanitary belt for feminine wear, comprising an elongated body portion forming a front panel, a rear panel and an intermediate crotch portion, said rear panel being wider than said front panel, with both of said panels being progressively increased in width from the crotch portion, the opposite ends of said body being formed on the arc of a circle in a concave direction, with each corner of said body being squared off along a line substantially in alignment with a radius of the circle along which the respective end is formed; a strip of elastic secured to one corner of the front panel and a corresponding corner of the rear panel to extend around one side of the waist of the wearer; a second strip of elastic secured to the 0pposite corner of the back panel, each of said strips of elastic sing secured in a direction normal to the respective corner to which it is attached; hook and eye connectors on the remaining corner of the front panel and the opposite end of the last-mentioned strip of elastic; and sanitary napkin supporting straps secured in spaced relation to the inner surface of said body.

2. A belt as defined in claim 1 characterized further in that said elastic straps are 2 inches wide.

3. A beltas defined in claim 2 characterized further in that said body is formed out of a double layer of soft fabric.

References Citedin the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,192,683 Potter July 25, 1916 1,602,013 Gottesman et al Oct. 5, 1926 FOREIGN PATENTS 16,962 Great Britain 1889 88,591 Austria May 26, 1922 304,696 Switzerland Apr. 1, 1955 

